Sam Pollard
- Known for
- Directing
- Born
- 20 April 1945 · Harlem, New York, USA
Samuel D. Pollard (born 20 April, 1945; Harlem) is an American documentary director, producer and editor. His films have garnered numerous awards such as Peabodys, Emmys, and an Academy Award nomination. In 2020, the International Documentary Association gave him a career achievement award. Spike Lee, whose films Pollard has edited and produced, described him as being "a master filmmaker." Henry Louis Gates Jr. characterizes his work in this way: "When I think about his documentaries, they add up to a corpus — a way of telling African-American history in its various dimensions."
Known for
Directing 32
- 2026The Sound of Philadelphia · director
- 2026Murder in America: The Lynching of Emmett Till · director
- 2026The Lorraine · director
- 2026Tutu · director
- 2025Counting The Ballots · director
- 2025I Was Born This Way · director
- 2024Ol' Dirty Bastard: A Tale of Two Dirtys · director
- 2023South to Black Power · director
- 2023The Harvest: Integrating Mississippi's Schools · director
- 2023The League · director
- 2023Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes · director
- 2022Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power · director
- 2022Rise and Rebuild: A Tale of Three Cities · director
- 2021Citizen Ashe · director
- 2021Black Art: In the Absence of Light · director
- 2020MLK/FBI · director
- 2018Mr. SOUL! · director
- 2017Maynard · director
- 2017Sammy Davis, Jr.: I've Gotta Be Me · director
- 2017Acorn and the Firestorm · director
- 2017The Talk: Race in America · director
- 2016Two Trains Runnin' · director
- 2015August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand · director
- 2012Slavery by Another Name · director
- 2010Mr. Soul: Ellis Haizlip and the Birth of Black Power TV · director
- 2009Chinatown Film Project · director
- 2009Love That Movie · director
- 2008Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun · director
- 2008Marvin Gaye: What's Going On · director
- 2006John Ford/John Wayne: The Filmmaker and the Legend · director
- 2001The Making of 'Bamboozled' · director
- 1993Goin' Back to T-Town · director
Production 26
- 2026Full Circle: The First All Black Everest Ascent · executive producer
- 2026Teaching America · executive producer
- 2026Natchez · executive producer
- 2025The Perfect Neighbor · executive producer
- 2025This Is Not a Drill · consulting producer
- 2024Keeper · executive producer
- 2024Ol' Dirty Bastard: A Tale of Two Dirtys · producer
- 2024Black Table · executive producer
- 2023Carlos · producer
- 2023LIFT · executive producer
- 2023The Harvest: Integrating Mississippi's Schools · producer
- 2023Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes · producer
- 2022Outta the Muck · executive producer
- 2021Hold Your Fire · consulting producer
- 2021A Crime on the Bayou · consulting producer
- 2021Civil War (Or, Who Do We Think We Are) · executive producer
- 2021Black Art: In the Absence of Light · producer
- 2020D. Wade: Life Unexpected · producer
- 2020Shared Legacies: The African-American Jewish Civil Rights Alliance · consulting producer
- 2018Wrestle · consulting producer
- 2017Acorn and the Firestorm · producer
- 2014Reel Herstory: The Real Story of Reel Women · executive producer
- 2002Jim Brown: All-American · co-producer
- 2001The Making of 'Bamboozled' · producer
- 19974 Little Girls · producer
- 1993Goin' Back to T-Town · producer
Editing 31
- 2024Ol' Dirty Bastard: A Tale of Two Dirtys · supervising editor
- 2022The Picture Taker · editorial consultant
- 2013Remote Area Medical · editor
- 2012Venus and Serena · editor
- 2012Joe Papp in Five Acts · editor
- 2010Gerrymandering · editor
- 2009By the People: The Election of Barack Obama · editor
- 2007Pete Seeger: The Power of Song · editor
- 2007Lillie & Leander: A Legacy of Violence · editorial consultant
- 2006Inside Man · additional editing
- 2004Isn't This a Time! A Tribute Concert for Harold Leventhal · editor
- 2001The Chinatown Files · consulting editor
- 2000Half Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon Parks · editor
- 2000Bamboozled · editor
- 19974 Little Girls · editor
- 1996Girl 6 · editor
- 1995Clockers · editor
- 1994Surviving the Game · editor
- 1992Juice · editor
- 1991Jungle Fever · editor
- 1990Mo' Better Blues · editor
- 1988A Vision Shared: A Tribute to Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly · editor
- 1987Langston Hughes: The Dream Keeper · editor
- 1985Private Resort · editor
- 1984Style Wars · editor
- 1983Metropolitan Cats · editor
- 1981Body and Soul · editor
- 1981Night of the Zombies · editor
- 1981Forever Young · editor
- 1981The Little Players · editor
- 1973Ganja & Hess · assistant editor
Acting 2
- 2023Subject as Self
- 2014Style Wars In The Cutting Room as Himself / Editor of Style Wars
Writing 4
- 2017Maynard · writer
- 2017Acorn and the Firestorm · writer
- 2009Love That Movie · writer
- 2008Marvin Gaye: What's Going On · writer